Severe storms to target Minneapolis, Chicago through Midweek

The Midwest and northern Plains will be the focal point of severe weather through the balance of the week as rounds of thunderstorms move through the region.

Tuesday will be far from a major severe weather outbreak, but afternoon thunderstorms from Minnesota to Illinois will still produce frequent lightning, hail and damaging winds.

Minneapolis, St. Cloud and Duluth, Minnesota; Madison, Green Bay and Milwaukee, Wisconsin; and Chicago and Peoria, Illinois could all see thunderstorms during the afternoon and evening that could disrupt daily routines and rush hour travel.

Although the threat of tornadoes will be low on Tuesday, some of the stronger storms may still lead to properly damage, such as broken tree limbs and sporadic power outages.

Some of the heavies storms may also lead to flash flooding, especially in eastern Minnesota and northern Wisconsin where the summer has brought wetter-than-normal conditions.

Additional rounds of thunderstorms are expected to impact this portion of the country through the balance of the week as a cold front sweeps across the region.

Wednesday's severe weather will be mainly confined to the Dakotas, but the severe weather threat will shift back into Minnesota, Wisconsin, Iowa and Illinois by Thursday.

These storms will likely be more violent than those on Tuesday, bringing the potential for stronger winds and possibly a few tornadoes.